The regional party, which has a strong support base in coastal, central, southern and northern parts of Odisha, is comparatively weak in the western region, for which the BJD paid a heavy price in the 2019 general elections.

BJP candidates won in all five Lok Sabha seats - Bolangir, Kalahandi, Bargah, Sambalpur and Sundergarh- in the western region in 2019.

Kantabanji is in Bolangir district, which shares borders with Kalahandi, Boudh, Subarnapur, Nuapada and Bargarh districts. It is also not far from Kandhamal district.

Kantabanji assembly seat is now held by the Congress’ SS Saluaja who is seeking re-election.

“The chief minister contesting from Kantabanji will obviously help us in the Lok Sabha and assembly seats of western Odisha. His presence will also encourage party leaders and workers to fight against the BJP in the region,” the BJD leader said.

Congress MLA Saluja said Patnaik may be the chief minister, but people are not likely to accept an “imported leader”.

“They have trust in me and the Congress. During his 24-year tenure, Patnaik has not been able to solve issues like migration and drinking water. People may ask him where he was for the last 24 years,” Saluja said.

The Congress leader, a four-time MLA from Kantabanji, claimed that the BJD fielded Patnaik against him as the regional party did not find a suitable candidate.

Congress MLA from Bolangir and veteran western Odisha leader Narasingha Mishra also accused the chief minister of adopting a step-motherly approach towards the region all along.

“He has always betrayed the region. Promises made by the CM for western Odisha were never fulfilled,” he told reporters.

Patnaik failed to make Padampur sub-division a district even after promising so during a by-poll in December 2023, Mishra said.

He also accused the chief minister of not meeting the demand for the establishment of a permanent bench of the high court in western Odisha, besides failing to set up an agriculture university in Balangir as promised.

“By contesting from Kantabanji, he is trying to show love for western Odisha but this will not work,” Mishra said.

Senior BJP leader Samir Mohanty said that Patnaik’s bid to counter the saffron surge in western Odisha will not work as the people have understood his policies in these 24 years.

“Patnaik had in 2019 contested from the Bijepur assembly segment in western Odisha but later resigned from it after winning. He retained Hinjili, his traditional seat,” Mohanty said.

Prominent BJD leader from western Odisha A U Singhdeo, however, claimed that Patnaik’s candidature from Kantabanji will change the political landscape in the region.